Chapter 187: Class Eight Grade One’s Fried Rice Dinner
Dinner time arrived.
As students from other classes in First Year High School at Nongda Affiliated High School and the punctual Production Escort Ship employees who finished work on time headed straight to the canteen, they saw the Class Eight Grade One crowd each holding a meal box and arriving at the dining area.
Students from other classes widened their eyes: You bunch of bright-eyed guys actually dare to sneak away?! As expected from those who use tactics during field training, your tactical minds are indeed dirty!
The Class Eight Grade One crowd naturally felt the gazes from classmates in other classes, but they couldn’t be bothered to retort, after all, their class had Xiang Chuan this ultimate weapon! When the time came, they could just say to the teacher or manager, “Teacher, we apply to go help Xiang Chuan,” and the approval rate would be a straight 100%.
If their reserves of ancient terms were richer, they could retort like this: What do you know! This is called perfect timing, terrain, and harmony of people!
Some sharp-eyed students had long noticed that the meal boxes in the hands of Class 8 Members only contained one portion of soup and one portion of rice, but the rice portion was rather large, and there seemed to be some other things in the rice… They quickly sent this information to the class group chat, thereby rapidly spreading it throughout the entire grade group.
Some students who ate slowly during lunch were fortunate to see Xiang Chuan drill back into the kitchen after finishing lunch, so they boldly guessed: That one from A Bite of China Club must have made something again.
Some who were in the same club as Class Eight Grade One quickly opened the club-specific chat group and frantically @ Class Eight Grade One members, but this group seemed collectively silent, not even glancing at the messages.
By now, First Year High School students had flooded into the canteen to line up for rice, unaware that the Class Eight Grade One crowd sitting at the outdoor seats was already immersed in fried rice and unable to extricate themselves.
For Class President Lu Daiqing, who had the deepest knowledge of (modern) topics in the class, today’s experience was full of novelty and impact.
At lunch, he tasted white rice for the first time; those distinct, flawless white grains released a faint sweet aroma in his mouth, paired with the delicious stir-frying, already making it an unprecedented gourmet food experience for him.
However, at dinner time, Xiang Chuan’s beef fried rice completely took his taste from simple understanding of food into a brand new adventure.
Lu Daiqing followed Xiang Chuan’s example, taking out a small compartment from the meal box and scooping a portion of fried rice into it.
He held that small bowl of fried rice in front of himself, the aroma of beef fried rice hitting his nose, with rich meat scent mixed with a hint of spiciness. The chili powder Xiang Chuan added to the fried rice, though just a little, brought out the unique flavor of the beef, as if endowing every piece of beef with an irresistible temptation.
Lu Daiqing couldn’t help taking a deep breath, feeling a warm current surging in his stomach, becoming even hungrier.
He picked up the spoon and scooped a mouthful of fried rice into his mouth.
First to touch the tongue tip was the rich texture of rice wrapped in oil and beef juice, each grain of rice seeming to shine with glossy luster; upon gentle chewing, the intense aroma filled the entire mouth. That was the heaviness of beef and the lubrication of oil, mixed with the freshness of green vegetables and a bit of chili stimulation, jointly playing a symphony of food on his taste buds.
The aroma from the rice in his mouth carried a slight scorched fragrance, perfectly blending with the meat aroma of beef, distinct layers yet harmonious, like a beautiful melody slowly sliding from mouth to heart. This was completely different from eating stir-frying with white rice at noon.
The texture of the beef surprised Lu Daiqing even more. It wasn’t rough or monotonous like the meat chunks he had eaten before; instead, after stir-frying with a long-handled spoon, the outer layer was slightly scorched and aromatic, while the inside remained tender and juicy.
When he gently bit into a piece of beef, the meat juice burst in his mouth, the meat aroma instantly enveloping his senses, bringing a soul-stirring satisfaction.
The addition of green vegetables brought a touch of freshness to the entire fried rice. After the chopped green vegetables were stir-fried in hot oil, though their volume shrank, the fresh texture they provided was undeniable. Every time he bit into a small piece of green vegetable, that slight crunch and refreshment contrasted with the richness of beef and rice, like a breeze sweeping away the oiliness of the fried rice.
Lu Daiqing looked up at the surrounding classmates; everyone was burying their heads scooping rice, and from time to time, he saw individual classmates showing the same enjoyment expression he had just had, as if this was not just a dinner, but a sacred ritual about gourmet food.
This beef fried rice not only satisfied his taste buds but also opened a whole new world of deliciousness and happiness for him in this simple dinner.
This also sparked his interest in other fried rice; he looked at Cultural Committee Member Mandy sitting next to him.
Mandy stared at the egg fried rice in front of them, eyes full of excitement and curiosity.
The simplicity and rusticness of white rice had already given them a whole new understanding of this ingredient, and the egg fried rice before them, shimmering with golden butter light, emitted a rich aroma, seeming to open a brand new door for them.
They picked up the spoon and gently scooped a mouthful of fried rice; those distinct grains of rice glowed warmly under the sunlight, with eggs perfectly fused with rice, as if sealing the taste of sunlight into this plate of fried rice.
Mandy closed their eyes and put a spoonful of rice into their mouth, immediately feeling a warm sensation spreading across their taste buds.
The temperature of the fried rice was just right, the rice soft yet elastic; every grain meeting the egg carried the egg’s aroma, emitting a rich and harmonious taste. The fluffiness of the egg and the graininess of the rice formed a wonderful contrast; with the tongue tip’s movement, Mandy seemed to feel every grain of rice dancing lightly in their mouth. They chewed slowly, as if unwilling to let this moment of deliciousness leave; the egg aroma was thick, the oil’s lubrication blending everything perfectly, with no excess taste, just the purest combination of egg and rice.
Class President Lu Daiqing sitting next to Mandy could no longer hold back. He had been staring at Mandy’s reaction, and seeing Mandy close their eyes in satisfaction made his heart itch like cat scratches, so he could no longer resist the temptation signals from the gluttony bug in his stomach and very ungracefully picked up his own spoon, scooping a big mouthful of fried rice forcefully.
While Mandy hadn’t protested yet, Lu Daiqing hurriedly put the fried rice into his mouth; his teeth gently touched, and the rice’s chewiness intertwined immediately with the egg’s softness. That slight scorched aroma and rich egg fragrance swept through the mouth like a storm. Lu Daiqing involuntarily let out a satisfied sigh, his eyes lighting up.
Mandy widened their eyes, pointing at Lu Daiqing who stole their egg fried rice, speechless for a long time, finally turning grief into action—they also scooped a big spoonful of Lu Daiqing’s beef fried rice.
Afterward, as if responding to the “call” from Class President Lu Daiqing and Cultural Committee Member Mandy, these two class cadres, the Class Eight Grade One crowd simply also “learned” to share fried rice with classmates next to them who ordered different fried rice.
Ouyang Yating sitting in the corner with Xiang Chuan looked at the actions of the surrounding classmates, then at the spicy potato fried rice in her own meal box—this was of course not what she ordered; she wanted egg fried rice, which she had just robbed from her club president’s meal box.
At first, she didn’t quite understand why Xiang Chuan didn’t just scoop rice directly from the meal box but divided the fried rice into small compartments; now it seemed… her club president did have some ideas.
Xiang Chuan, who was protecting her own egg fried rice from Ainuo, indicated: I just eat with my usual morning tea habit, don’t overthink it, reject ideological corruption!
